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Next build is this Hasegawa A6M5 Type 52 Zero Night Fighter (Kit no 08252). This kit will be built mostly OOB, with a few AM enhancements, and I will be using the kit decals to cut masks from for painting. (Scheme as per the box art) The aircraft will be built with a closed canopy - to show off the 20mm cannon that was installed in the rear part of the cockpit fuselage decking. Having an open canopy would hide the defining part of this aircraft - so I will not be going to town on the cockpit - it will be built OOB with nothing extra than some HGW belts. I have a HGW rivet set to throw at it, as well as Master brass barrels and Eduard wheels and CMK Bay doors. I also have an Eduard exterior detail that I bought for my Tamiya Zero (built) but never used it. Thought I might use it on this kit, but some measuring, looking at fit, etc later. I've decided against it as the design of this Tamiya-specific AM wouldn't work well. So the wheels wells remain as they are, and the flaps will remain up! The gear wells will do, perhaps a line or two will be added. So far I've snipped the major parts off the sprues, and completed the assembly work on some sub-assemblies. Most of it is only dry fitted at the moment, but parts like the cockpit assemblies are ready for paint Fuselage halves are only dry-fitted together, as well as the engine. It seems to go together pretty well!! I've drilled out the holes in the cylinders for the ignition wires, etc I made rivets on the rear cockpit decking, this was missing on the kit, but quite prominent on the real a/c. Will have to redo some of them methinks once I glue it all together The kit gear legs with the Eduard wheels and CMK doors. CMK only provides two support struts between the doors and the legs, should be three, so I'll have to SB another one, but that shouldn't take too long at all!

I've started my Tamiya A6M2b in my usual snail-like pace... Let's hope that this will be a project that will see completion! I know there are some minor things that need adressing to get this model more accurate. Luckily, the don't concern the shape of the model, but more details because of the workable undercarriage and details thet aren't quite correct for the timeframe and so on. Because I know that a couple of Tweak Lists were published about the A6M5 and A6M2 but couldn't find them I started this thread: Not only will Ryan Toews redo his tweak lists when his family-situation will allow it, this thread contains lots more invaluable info! Check it out! The box art shows the A6M2b of Lt. Saburo Shindo from Akagi of the 2nd wave of the Pearl Harbor attack: I feel particularly drawn to this scheme, though, the Zero of NAP1/C Tsuguo Matsuyama from Hiryu: Sadly, my first results have to be redone, since the double vertical attachment of compressed air bottles on the left fuselage side wasn't found on the A6M2 but rather on the A6M5...! Can it be seen anyway, on the finished model? Looks like the seat rather blocks any view into the aft fuselage! I think copying the single-bottle brackets also found in the Big-Ed set won't be too hard, so a single horizontal set-up should be possible! I already removed the massive plastic brackets Tamiya supplies the bottles with. Now to find out how the equipment on this shelf looked. Tamiya supplies us with something looking like a Sony CD-player and Eduard follows suit. That doesn't mean anything since Eduard states that it supplies extra details but doesn't supply corrections! Cheers, Erik.

Hi guys, I could've sworn there was a Tweak List for Tamiya's 1/32 Zero somewhere, at least for the A6M5. I can't seem to find it anywhere, though. Someone an idea where I might look? Thanks! Erik B.